Salted Margarita Bars Recipe (2024)

These boozy bars are unique and a crowd pleaser. They are definitely tequila-forward, very true to the flavor of a Cadillac margarita. While delicious and easy to prepare, they unfortunately get very soft at room temperature (68°F in air conditioned home) and best kept in the freezer or in the fridge.

No need for a food processor or zip lock bag to grind the saltines. I crushed them inside the sleeve the crackers come in--first with my fingers, and then with a heavy pestle to press further. The bag held up nicely until they were fully crushed, and I had fewer dishes to wash :)

I brought these to a party and they were a huge hit! I made the recipe exactly as written, sprinkling the tops with more lime zest and Maldon salt. The saltine crust is *everything.* The filling is pretty soft so keeping them frozen works best, but they did okay sitting out on the table for an hour also.

WOW! Delicious, taste just like a margarita! I took someone’s advice and mixed the flaky salt with lime zest for the topping and that was a hit. Made them in cupcake tins-baking time for the crust was the same and a few minutes less for the curd. Easy and will make again.

These bars taste so good, and were a big hit with neighbors. Adjustments: omitted the 1 t salt from the crust; added 1.5 t of pectin to the filling for firmness (worked perfectly); added zest on top of the bars, too.

Happy to report that if all you’ve got is an 8x8 pan, you can still make these AND they will still be delicious. We baked them a few minutes longer to accommodate the difference in pan size, and they turned out just fine.

I made a double batch of this - one with alcohol one without for my kids. The one with alcohol I used Cointreau since I had it and that worked well. They’re delicious and you can adjust the amount of salt you want on each bar. They didn’t taste as boozy as some described but you can taste the tequila just like a margarita. For the non-alcoholic version I replaced the alcohol with orange juice and that worked just fine. Both versions are best coming from the freezer.

We make these but with a pretzel and butter crust.

Does cooking these bars cook out the alcohol?

The orange liqueur is part of the true-to-a-margarita flavor, so it depends on how interested you are in mimicking that flavor. If veritable margarita-ness isn't a priority, you could sub an equal quantity of orange juice or omit it entirely. If you want the full effect, it's worth picking up a bottle. If you like margaritas, you'll find a use for the rest of it!

I've made these for years but use pretzels instead of saltines, it's divine.

To make them dairy free, substitute sweetened condensed coconut milk. A good health food store should carry it.

These were delicious, even with the cheap tequila. More cookie recipes I’m not allowed to share with my kid, please.

And then you can have the lime with the coconut... sounds like a good combo!

No. Please see this Wikipedia link; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_with_alcohol#Alcohol_in_finished_food

I tried to make this recipe exactly as stated, but oh darn - I absentmindedly zested all of my limes, and reluctantly tossed two heaping tablespoons of zest into the mix instead of the two teaspoons asked for. "Oh well", I thought as I put it in the oven, "I guess I'll reap what I've sown." As you can probably guess, it turned out to be the most happy of accidents! These are absolutely a margarita on a crust, and I'll make them again and again!!

I bloomed a tsp of gelatine in about ⅛ cup cold water and then dissolved over low heat just before adding to the tequila egg yolk mixture. I immediately poured it into the crust and baked for 16 minutes. The bars came out perfectly and held their shape even when sitting out for over an hour. They were super delicious as well!

Fantastic recipe. Personally, I believe the amount of tequila could be lowered, depending on how much you like the taste of tequila. However, for someone who wants a simple recipe that is extremely delicious, I would recommend this.

I accidentally forgot the booze (found it on the counter when cleaning up). I then grabbed the pan from the freezer; it was not solid yet, so I slowly stirred the alcohol with a fork into the topping until it was all even and creamy, and returned to freezer. FANTASTIC! Nice crisp crust remained intact, and topping was VERY margarita like.

These are super yummy! I made these for a pool party and they were a hit. I served them from the freezer, and did not let them sit out. I used a muffin tin and they came out great. The curd was definitely a thick layer for muffin sized treats, so I baked it for a few minutes past the time called for and they held up pretty well.

I agree with past comments that they need to stay in the freezer or at the very least the fridge after making. But that crust is divine!

VERY FUN and a big hit at the beach party - will definitely make them again.

A little too salty for me but friends loved them. Try eating them upside down to avoid getting hit with too much salt up front.

I made these for a BBQ this past weekend, and I'm already planning to make them again for a party this upcoming weekend. They are the perfect summer dessert. So good! Definitely keep them in the freezer until you're ready to serve them.

sampled after the 2hr freeze time and gave this 3 stars. sampled again after it had been in the freezer overnight and am updating to 4 stars. flavors seemed to mingle more with time. eat it directly out of the freezer!

Straightforward and quick enough to make for a summer gathering. Delight your friends with these sweet, salty, surprising bars and then resent them when they go back for seconds, ruining your plan of hoarding the rest for yourself.

I made these, they're very good, but VERY salty. I suggest leaving the salt out of the crust (the saltines have plenty of salt) and being careful with the sprinkle of flaky salt in the final step.

Big hit at a summer BBQ. Even though the bars got soft sitting out, people put them in cups and ate them with spoons. I used a pretzel crust, which sounded better than saltines.

Sadly, these are terrible. Followed the directions exactly. Friends were laughing at how bad they were.

These bars were a huge hit at our July 4th cookout! Based on other comments, I only used a half teaspoon of salt in the crust. I baked this is an 8x8 pan and cook time was about 20 minutes. After freezing overnight, I sliced them up and topped with more lime zest and freshly ground sea salt. I moved them to the refrigerator shortly before serving and the texture was perfect - no need to worry about keeping them cool after that because they will be devoured in no time!